The Final Chapter
by Unused1
Summary: When five deviant titans are discovered by the Scouting Legion, not one person can explain. But when it is discovered that one may be a fallen comrade and the others might have been actual members of the Survey Corps new theories and discoveries of where titans may have come from skyrocket through through the roof, but is it really as it seems? {sorry I'm horrible at summaries!}
1. Chapter 1

_** We all thought the war on the titans would be never ending. We constantly thought of how many more of our friends would die to save the human race, some sick bastards even made bets on who would kick the bucket next. But it was all a waste; we would all be dead sooner or later.**_

Armin sat and stared at his lunch. It was unusually cold outside and he had lost his appetite, listening to the others in his group gossip and laugh. He unconsciously gasped in the cold air and folded his arms across his chest to keep his warmth as close as possible, but it slipped out of his grasp like a ghost in the snow.

There was still news flying around the camp of Annie and how she was the female-titan. People still talked about how she was now shielded inside and unbreakable crystal barrier hidden underground. It was all old news to Levi Rivaille and his new squad, though. They were there after all.

Armin looked up and observed the others as they animatedly chatted with one another. Mikasa sat close to Eren, practically breathing down his neck, to which he would push her away slightly with his elbow. But Mikasa still scooted back to her spot and protectively put her hand on Eren's each time. She reminded Armin of a puppy looking for attention._ Yeah_, Amin thought to himself, _a dangerous puppy with the capability to kill a 15-meter titan by herself without even blinking_.

Sasha and Connie were the loudest of the group, what with Sasha always complaining about being hungry and Connie calling her stupid. Armin had always guessed that Connie had a thing for Sasha though. He seemed to always be around her and though he insulted her constantly, Connie also seemed to be somewhat protective of Sasha and there when she needed him most.

Jean sat on the corner of the table with his head in his hand and a mockingly amused smile on his face. His eyes sometimes wandered over to Mikasa before flashing back to his food or whoever was talking. Amazingly, he had stopped fighting with Eren as often as he used to, though a glimmer of resentment still flashed over his long face whenever Mikasa touched Eren.

"What do you think will happen to Annie?" Connie finally said, knocking Armin out of his trans. His expression had grown solemn and he was silent as he waited for an answer, "I mean we can't just let her stay in there forever…right?"The room had gone suddenly quiet and it made the chill of late autumn seem worse.

Jean sat up then, the smile slipping from his face, and Eren looked at Mikasa before saying, "She'll have to come out sooner or later," He smirked slightly, "Besides, I'm sure Corporal Rivaille and Captain Smith with find some way to get her out soon enough,"

"Do you think everything is going well?" Erwin asked Levi as he reclined his head against the wall behind the couch he sat on.

"Yes," Levi answered shortly in a disinterested tone. He had his legs crossed just to the left of Erwin Smith.

"Do you trust Eren not to shift without authorization?"

"Yes,"

"How do you know he won't do something stupid?" Erwin looked over at Levi, but he still stared forward with a bored expression.

"I don't," Levi said, rolling his eyes over to Erwin before blinking them forward again. "But I know he doesn't want to hurt his friends."

"But how do you know he'll be safe? Another Shifter could come and try to kidnap him again," Erwin narrowed his eyes. He waited for Levi to look at him before cocking an eyebrow suspiciously.

They sat like that for a moment before Levi finally broke. _Bastard's always staring at me with his freaky-ass eyebrows and a stupid smirk on his face._ He thought.

"Do you want me to check on the little brat then?" Levi sighed and stood. He gracefully walked to the door and walked through it, leaving Erwin alone in the small room.

Erwin smiled to himself and walked over to his desk, looking out the one large window at the open fields stretching out before him. He thought it was beautiful and ached for the day when he could walk through one of those fields and stare at the sky without fear of getting eaten.

Levi closed the wooden door behind him and began walking to the door which led to the mess hall with smooth movements and silent steps. He grimaced as he landed awkwardly on his left leg, which still had bruises and tender nerve-endings from being broken only weeks ago.

"Corporal!" Someone yelled from behind Levi. He turned to see a short boy with white-blond hair and acne scars on his cheeks running toward him at full speed. The boy breathlessly made it to the short man and leaned over slightly, putting one hand on his knee to support himself while pointing in the other direction with the other. "We need you…to get your squad…and Commander Erwin…" The boy gasped for air a few times before continuing in a slightly stronger voice, "…Come to the clearing just…west of here and bring your…smoke signals," He stood up straight and waited for an answer from Levi. He is breathing was still annoyingly heavy and his shirt was wrinkled.

"What are you talking about?" Levi asked in an annoyed voice, "Where is Hanji?" He folded his arms over his chest and looked expectantly at the young recruit.

"We couldn't get her away from them," The boy breathed, "I will explain more when we get going but we need to hurry or something might happen to her,"

Levi sighed and pushed the door open. "Dumbass is going to kill herself," he muttered before adding, "The Commander is in his office. You can get him with I gather my squad." He pulled the door shut behind him and ascended to the mess hall where his new squad was waiting.

"So, what's going on?" Jean finally asked as the group made their way through the chilly air to the large clearing where Hanji was. "Why do you need all of us?"

"We still don't know if they are dangerous to us yet," The boy with the acne scars said from the front of the group. He had his hood pulled over his head so that it came just to his hairline. "We just found them wandering around and they followed us back when we retreated, but nobody has gotten hurt so far. One of the bigger ones actually saved a guy from falling," He said it in awe.

"Who are you, again?" Armin asked. His breath came out in a cloud of grey before disappearing behind him.

The boy looked taken aback before slapping himself on the forehead and offering his hand to Connie. "Oh! I'm Simon Typer! I just got here a few weeks ago!" He smiled and turned to give Armin's hand a hearty shake. "Yeah, I'm from the 105th trainee group. I graduated and immediately signed up for the Scouting Legion!" He glanced back at Levi with child-like awe, "You guys are so cool!"

"Yeah, we are," Connie said flexing his arms in a macho way, "no need to bring it to the light,"

"How much further?" Levi asked suddenly. He gave Simon an unemotional look before raising an eyebrow slightly.

"Just up ahead," Simon said. He stopped in front of the group and looked at them with something unreadable. "But you must contain yourselves when you see these titans. They are extremely abnormal and quite possibly dangerous. Make sure not to kill them just yet, though," He looked everyone in the face before turning back around and continuing forward.

Armin and Eren exchanged glances of confusion before following behind Levi and Simon. Mikasa loomed behind Eren like a hawk and kept an eye open for any surprises. Jean hung in the back and took slightly slower steps than the others. He was still upset about Marco's death and the thought of abnormal titans made his stomach heave grievingly.

_Don't think about him, Jean,_ he thought to himself as the group continued forward. He stared at his boots and lumbered onward. _You're just going to make yourself feel worse if you keep thinking about him._ He still didn't look up when the group stopped. _What if I had saved him? What if I had saved anyone? If I had someone who was finally grateful that I was around, would I still feel this worthless? _

Jean sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He just wanted to go back to the old times when he was still a naïve little trainee with his eyes set on being in the Military Police. He wanted to go back to the 3DMG lessons and laugh at Eren when he lost his balance or overcorrected himself and went tumbling to the ground. He wanted to feel happy again.

Jean continued walking, not really paying attention to anything. He was more than shocked when a firm hand landed on his shoulder and yanked him back, knocking off his equilibrium as well. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Someone yelled down at him.

Jean blinked and looked up at a wild eyed Simon. His fisted were clenched at his sides and his breath came out in hot bursts of vapor that barely had time to vanish before being replaced by another.

"Jean!" Armin yelled, running up to him, "What were you doing?" He knelt down next to him and gave him a concerned look.

"I…I don't know,"

"You practically walked right up to that titan!" Simon said incredulously, pointing skyward.

Jean gasped and looked up at the 15-meter titan glancing down at him. He scooted away and got to his feet, still staring at the beast in terror. It didn't move, save for tilting its head to keep its dark eyes on Jean. It was restrained into a sitting position with large clamps around its neck, ankles and wrists. Its hair was blond and short and its sleepy eyes stared at Jean almost mockingly, the dark circles gyrating around them seeming to give them a more supernatural glow.

Jean scowled up at the titan. It saw this and seemed to smirk at him, a loud grunt emitting from its chest before it looked away.

Jean's jaw dropped to the ground and his scowl deepened. "Did you see that?" He asked Simon, gesturing up at the titan, "it just smirked at me like I'm some kind of—"

"I know! Isn't it fantastic?" Hanji screamed, jumping out from behind Jean, "They're all so human I keep expecting them to start talking right and left!" She hung over Jean's shoulder and stared up at the titan lovingly, practically drooling on Jean's shirt.

"Hey, knock it off!" Jean yelled shrugged Hanji off of him. "Not everyone here is a titan enthusiast,"

"Oh, but you should be!" Hanji squealed, "They are simply fantastic creatures! Look at this," She run up to the blond titan, trampling over anyone who got in her way and crawled onto its knee. "Look! I am standing right on his knee and he hasn't tried to eat me once! And this," She grabbed one of the titan's fingers and hugged it to her face, "He's so gentle, too!"

"Ugh," Jean rolled his eyes and folded his arms, "This sucks," he said to himself, still watching Hanji as she explored and observed the titan. It watched her, its eyes still lazy and his lip lifted into a smirk. Jean began to think it was natural.

"Jean," Eren said, turning his head toward him but keeping his eyes on the titan before him, "I think you should come see this,"

"Jesus," Jean swore, "How many did you find?" He took a step back and looked to his right and saw even more titans.

"Five!" Hanji screamed, one of the titan's hands balanced over her head, "I don't even know where they came from! That one over there actually _saved_ one soldiers when his maneuver gear jammed up in the forest!" She pointed to one titan with dark hair whose face was hidden behind one of the others.

"Jean!" Eren yelled again. He finally ripped his eyes away from the titan in front of him, "You_ need_ to see this," His eyes said that it was urgent.

"Coming," Jean said. He gave Hanji and her titan one more disgusted look before jogging up to Eren. He passed three more titans. One was especially ugly, with hair seemingly slicked back into a slight point and tears in the skin all over its body and hands. It gave him a strange look with big, black eyes.

Jean looked down at the ground, not bothering to look at the other titans. "What is it, Eren?" He asked in an annoyed voice when he finally made it to his side.

"Look," Eren pointed up at the titan. His expression was a mixture of fear and sorrow and Jean stared for a moment before doing as he said.

The titan had its head lowered so its face wasn't visible save for a slight shadow beneath messy black hair. It didn't move much, the only indication that it was even alive was the slow movements of its chest and its fingers twitching occasionally. It didn't even seem to mind when a soldier tripped over one of the pegs fastening its chains to the ground.

"So it's a lazy titan, so what?" Jean shrugged, "nothing we haven't seen before," he scratched the back of his neck and looked around. "Hey, Hanji," He called, "Since there is really no danger here, can I go back to camp?"

The rattling of chains had Jean looking back at the titan. It was lifting its head to face him and he took a step back. Jean had never liked it when titans looked at him; it was like they were taunting him with illusions of some kind of humanity that wasn't there.

Jean made eye contact with the titan and wanted to throw up. Its eyes were a bright brown, encircled with black, bruise-like rings along the lids and beyond them. There were dark patches on its cheekbones with tears in the skin below them showing off dangerous teeth. It had a toned but lanky body, covered in openings of the skin to reveal red muscle and tendons. It had sleepy eyes just like the blond titan but this one's eyes seemed to droop out of genuine fatigue rather than boredom.

The muscles in the titan's jaw tensed and it visibly swallowed as it stared down at Jean. It seemed like it was trying to say something but its mouth couldn't move. Finally, a low whine wrestled its way out of its throat and Jean knit his eyebrows in confusion.

The titan's hand suddenly lifted from its spot on its leg and slowly reached toward Jean. He jumped back just in time to not get touched by the massive hand. It paused before it dropped over where Jean had been before he moved. It stayed there for a moment before sliding back onto the titan's lap.

The titan looked down and lowered its head again, going back to its unmoving stance.

Jean sneered at the titan before looking in the other direction. He hated that one in particular. It was one of the weird ones that looked more humanoid than the others with correct proportions and no frozen smile on its face. It was monstrously beautiful in a way and it made Jean sick to look at it for too long.

"I'm going back to camp," Jean said turning on his heel and walking back in the way of the large castle in the distance. He heard the titan whine behind him again but ignored it. He didn't want to look at any more of these deviants or the people working around them at such a close range.

"Jean—"

"I'm going back to camp!" Jean yelled back over his shoulder.

Eren growled and ran after him. He grabbed Jean by the shoulder and whirled him around, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt. "Don't you see what this is?" he demanded, shaking Jean, "Look at all these titans!" He gestured to the five restrained titans behind him. One appeared to be a female like Annie with wide greens eyes that shifted and blinked almost kindly. "Look at their faces! Those are not like other titans faces; they might be able to help us!"

"Don't you dare say that!" Jean yelled pushing Eren away from him, "don't you ever tell me that some random titans that started following you around can help us! You were the one that said that you wanted to kill all of them off, didn't you? They may be calm right now, but what happens when we let our guard down? What have they been doing to us for the last century? Just because you found some that haven't killed you right away doesn't mean they won't kill you as soon as you take away their restraints! I thought at least _you_ of all people would keep your head straight," Jean glared one more time at every titan before storming away from the scene, his breathing heavy.

"Eren," Mikasa said from behind him, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Mikasa," He grunted, "Jean's just _too much of an idiot to realize what this could mean for the sake of freaking humanity_!" He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled the last part to Jean's back. His response was a middle finger raised in his direction and a gaudy "go fuck yourself" for everyone to hear.

"What was that all about?" Armin asked, coming up to the duo with a chatty Simon at his side, "I haven't seen Jean so passionate about anything since Marco died…" He glanced up at the titan before him. Its head was still lowered in submission and its hands withdrawn so they were hanging in the space between his folded legs, his forearms resting on his thighs.

The sudden sound of screaming had everyone looking to the left. A soldier was kicking and wriggling as a dirty-blond titan next to the female lifted him by the hood of his cloak. It didn't appear like it wanted to eat him, but rather keep him away from the other soldiers. The one in front of him was actually holding his nose as blood ran down his chin.

People screamed and blades were drawn but the titan didn't move. It remained with its hand suspended in the air.

"Now, now," Hanji said running over and trying to calm everyone, "You don't want to eat _Moblit _he would be awfully bitter, though not as bitter as Levi!" She ran up to face the titan.

Shockingly enough, the titan gently put the soldier down. The only real damage it did was pull its index finger back and give Moblit a quick flick in the butt which earned a surprised yelp as he quickly scrambled off.

Hanji gasped. "Yes!" she screamed, "Excellent! Flicks in the butt are much more preferred over getting eaten!" She squealed and jumped up and down.

The titan in front of Armin had raised its head and was somberly looking at the scene before him. It looked subdued, rejected and Armin studied it with narrowed eyes. He made sure to take in the messy hair and dark patches and bright eyes with an open mind. He sifted through anything that might help him figure where they had come from. Past classes and lectures and battles…like the battle of Trost.

Armin gasped like a fish pulled out of the water. He could hear Simon ask him if he was okay but he couldn't make out any real words, he could only hear muffled sounds. "I gotta get Jean back here!" He gasped and began to clumsily run after Jean. "Jean!" He yelled looking around for the long-face soldier, "Jean I need to tell you something!" He frantically looked around and saw Jean running from what looked like a 10-meter titan with a gaping mouth. Armin quickly reeled back and turned back to the soldiers surrounding the titans.

"Hey," Armin screamed running back to everyone else, "_heeeyy_!" He waved his hands desperately above his head. "Jean is getting chased and I really don't think he can keep it up for much longer," He ran over to Eren. "I know you don't care much for Jean but there are no buildings around—"

"Yes," Hanji breathed coming up to the group, "shift, Eren. It is amazing. Jean needs your help!" Levi was behind her and gave Eren a vague nod of approval.

"I'm on it!" Eren said, already getting a jogging start with Armin and Mikasa at his sides, "Where is he?"

"Just over there," Armin pointed forward and, sure enough, there was Jean, being a complete idiot and running for his life.

They heard more chains rattling and Mikasa looked behind her to see the titan that had reached for Jean leaning forward and staring toward them. It struggled slightly against its restraints, tilting its head toward them like it was trying to listen. The other titans seemed to notice as well but didn't have as urgent as a reaction.

Eren bit into his hand with vigor. Mikasa and Armin along with any other watching soldier watched as hot muscle and skin surrounded Eren and his titan form was unleashed. Its eyes glowed green as it began to run toward the 10-meter threatening Jean's life.

The rattling behind Mikasa grew louder until it was a complete metallic groaning. It didn't attract much attention aside from the female titan and maybe one other soldier.

"He's not going to make it in time," Simon gasped to Armin, "there is no way he is running fast enough to get to Jean before that other titan does; He's gonna—"

One of the female soldiers toward the back of the group started screaming, causing most to look back to see what was happening. The messy-haired titan with the bright eyes was fighting his restraints, the grounded pegs being uprooted and yanked from the ground, swinging wildly. It easily ripped the clamp around its neck off and broke into a sprint toward Armin, Mikasa, and Simon.

Mikasa readied her swords but was pulled to the ground by Simon and Armin as the titan jumped over them. They all watched as the beast effortlessly caught up with Eren and passed him, its steps light and long. It reminded them of a deer.

The titan caught up with Jean just as he was snatched up by the gape-mouthed titan. Time seemed to slow to half speed as Jean stared into the wide mouth. He held his breath and closed his eyes tight, the rank breath of the titan dampening his clothes in the cold weather. He could almost sense himself being suspended over a slimy tongue and hoped that death would come quickly.

There was a suddenly loud _thud_ as something hard and wet hit Jean in the side of the face. He got splashed with something hot before he was suddenly airborne, flipping wildly through the chilly air. Jean opened his eyes to see the world growing farther and farther away from him before crashing closer at a breakneck speed. His lungs hurt from being squeezed by the titan but he screamed anyway, his voice cracking.

A plume of steam and another _thud_ later, and Jean was caught by something, staring up at the grey sky. He stayed like that a moment, his breathing coming in harsh gasps that stung his lungs, before he sat up. Another wall of steam quickly cleared before he saw the dark, messy hair of the titan being slowly raised to face him.

Jean scooted back against the fingers of the titan, holding an injured left arm to his chest. Breathing was difficult and he looked over to see a whole squad of people running toward him with blurry eyes. Just beyond that he could see two large bodies decomposing in the distance, large billows of steam rising from what he assumed was the back of their necks. Jean's eyes widened and he tried to focus them, realizing that is he was being held by one of the deviants just caught then one of the bodies over there could be Eren's.

Jean's breathing quickened and a low, rumbling whine had him looking back at the titan holding him. He liked how warm its hands were, and that bothered him. Jean glared up at the titan, his breathing fast and shallow until his body finally gave in to the pain of crushed ribs and his eyes rolled into the back of his head. The faint sounds of people screaming his name could be heard in the distance as his head was finally submerged into the darkness of unconsciousness.


	2. Chapter 2

**{Thank you all for reading! I really appreciate all the awesome reviews! I will try to Update as much as possible! ENJOY!}**

Jean could hear voices in his sleep. Some were familiar, some weren't. He easily picked out Hanji and Eren and even Commander Erwin, but the rest of the voices were mixed into each other in a chorus of orders and worried shouts.

He didn't dream, only drifted. It was like he was stuck in some kind of paralysis where he was completely conscious almost all the time but couldn't communicate himself. It was infuriating, but after a few hours of it, he grew accustomed to only listening and picturing where someone was in his mind's eye. It was even enjoyable sometimes.

It was disorienting, though, when he was finally able to open his eyes for the first time in what felt like years.

Jean was alone in a dark room, the only light source coming from a short candle on the table to his left and the moon that shone through the thin, white curtains beyond that. It wasn't his old room, it was much too clean for that and Jean noticed that he wasn't in his regular close either. He was in his pajamas.

Jean looked around for a moment before trying to get out of bed. It was hard. His left wrist was wrapped in a thick bandage and his ribs ached in protest, but he was tired of lying around. It was dull and musty in that room and he needed some fresh air to waken his senses.

Sweat dotted his forehead and his breathing was slightly heavier, but he was eventually in a standing position. He leaned against the bedpost for a moment, catching his breath, before slowly shuffling over to the window. Jean grabbed the back of a wooden chair that sat in the corner of the room and noisily dragged it over so that he could sit and look out the window with the cold breeze dancing over his skin.

He pushed the wood plank shaft out of the way and welcomed the frigid air into his room. It caressed his skin in a gentle breeze and Jean sighed, closing his eyes and leaning his back against the chair. Goose bumps raised on his neck and down his back and before Jean knew it, he was shivering.

He sat like that for a moment more before he finally stood with a low grunt and leaned out the window to close it. He may have only been awake for a few minutes, but he was already exhausted.

Before Jean could pull the window closed, something caught his eye. There was a fire burning somewhere in the distance. He saw a few shadows casted long and ominous on the ground surrounding it. He recognized Hanji even from that distance with her erratic movements and loud talking.

Jean shivered again and reached to pull the window closed and crawl back into bed. He winced at the pain in his chest, still looking at the small group surrounding the fire when something else got his attention.

A little ways off from the fire, something sat pale and unmoving. Jean's eyes squinted to get a better focus on it and nearly lost his balance in doing so. He saw the thing shudder and tilt forward. He could have sworn he also heard the faint rattle of chains, but his mind went fuzzy from exhaustion and pushed it to the back of his memory.

The window slammed shut with a clatter that bit into Jean's tender headache. He cringed as he slowly made it back to his bed, cuddling deep into the still warm blankets. He didn't dream for the rest of the night.

"Holy crap, man," Eren coughed when Jean shuffled into the room, "You look terrible,"

Jean made a face at Eren and sat down across the table from him. "What happened?" He asked in a hoarse voice.

"Don't you remember? It's the only thing anybody talks about right now," Armin said from Eren's side. Jean hadn't even noticed he was there. In fact, Jean didn't notice half of the people in the mess hall.

"Yeah," Eren smirked, "They can't get over the fact that you fainted like a damsel after looking at that titan," He laughed to himself then, "Hell, I can't get over it and I didn't even see it."

"I didn't faint when I looked at that titan," Jean argued in confusion. Vague images of the grotesque face of that ten-meter chasing him flashed across his vision and he remembered some of what had happened to him. He at least remembered why his ribs hurt. "And you were there. You were the one that caught me;" He looked between Eren and Armin's incredulous expressions, "weren't you?"

"Man, you must have hit your head a lot harder than we thought, didn't you?" Eren asked with sarcasm. He leaned away from Jean with his lip lifted slightly.

"You honestly don't remember?" Armin asked, leaning closer with interest.

"Obviously not," said Jean, raising his eyebrows with an attitude. He unconsciously traced the coarse fabric wrapped around his wrist with his fingers.

Armin and Eren exchanged glances before Armin said, "Jean, Eren did go after you, but he didn't save you," He paused slightly at Jean's confused expression, "You were saved by one of the aberrant titans we caught a few days ago,"

Jean's confusion deepened before he finally remembered something he had pushed out of his memory before blacking out in that field. Those sleepy brown eyes and messy black hair. The way the titan had reached for him and whined when it couldn't touch him.

He hadn't seen the deviant kill Eren's titan, but he figured that it had. It had somehow known where to bite, obviously having not done any serious damage to Eren's limbs in the process. It also must have been fast and judging by Jean's current state, very gentle when handling humans.

"Oh, yeah," Jean said absently, "I remember most of it now," he stared into space for a moment before turning back to Armin. "Could you refresh my memory a little more, though?"

The brainiac gave a small smile and nodded. "What part do you remember?" He asked.

"Up until when the other titan was about to eat me," Jean offered scratching his head. It hurt to stretch his arms over his torso but he ignored it.

"Okay you're mostly caught up then," Armin nodded.

Jean sat back in his chair as what had happened to him was brought back to his conscience. As Armin talked and sometimes plunged into great detail, images flashed behind his eyes and he remembered what had occurred up until when he blacked out and the titan was restrained again.

"Where are they keeping all the titans now?" Jean asked out of the blue.

Armin shrugged his shoulders, "All of the titans but that one are unrestrained now," He said quietly. He looked over to Eren who nodded with his lips pursed in a tight line.

"They let them loose? Just like that?" Jean said a little too loudly. He attracted a few stares but paid no mind to them, leaning closer across the table, "Why?"

Armin swallowed before talking in a low voice, "Jean," he said, "You were asleep for almost a week. They already confirmed most of the deviants to not be a huge threat to us,"

"Then why do they keep that one locked up?"

This time Eren spoke up before Armin, "We haven't been able to communicate with it much."

"That's stupid," Jean huffed. "Have you found out where they came from, yet?"

Eren looked down before rolling his eyes over to Armin. The two exchanged a long glance before saying a synchronized, "No,"

Jean sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He stared down at the grooves in the wood table for a moment, chewing his lip, before looking back up at Armin. "Would you mind taking me to see it? The titan, I mean," He looked at Armin with almost desperation, waiting for a response.

Armin looked at Eren before nodding and standing from his seat.

"What are they doing with all the other deviants?" Jean asked as he Armin, Eren and Mikasa slowly made their way across a wide field to a small cluster of giant trees just west of the camp. He huffed and took long strides to keep pace with the others.

"Hanji wanted to use some of them for training exercises with the trainees but Levi and Commander Erwin won't let them near the wall so they are helping with a few of the smaller expeditions and the newer recruits," Armin offered. He wrapped his arm around Jean's waist and put Jean's arm over his shoulder when his breathing started to come out in hitches. "Are you sure you're up for walking this far?"

"I'm fine," Jean grunted, "But why are they so trusting of these titans already?"

Armin looked down and Eren's pace just barely slowed down.

"Levi and Eren recognized them," Mikasa said suddenly. She didn't meet anyone's eyes, only staring forward, "We think it might have been the special ops squad assigned to Eren that was killed when Annie tried to kidnap him the first time."

"But I thought there were only four in that squad," Jean said.

"About that," Armin said, stopping and taking Jean's arm off his shoulders, "I think I night know who that other titan might be." He took a step away from Jean.

"Well?" Jean asked, "Who?"

Armin swallowed and shifted his gaze. "You have to promise not to get mad at me for saying this,"

"I won't," Jean said.

"And if it isn't him—"

"Just tell me, Armin," Jean interrupted, "Who is it?" he waited, cleverly covering his impatience with a cringe as he tried to take a deep breath.

Armin looked to his friends one more time before finally answering, "Well...we think it might be—and this is just a guess since we haven't made any communication with it yet…" He looked up at Jean's face and got straight to the point. "We think it might be Marco Bodt," He lifted his eyes to Jean's, "From Trost,"

Jean's breathing hitched again as he tried to laugh. There was no sound, only an increase in the air he was exhaling. He looked from Armin to Mikasa to Eren and back to Armin. The smile wiped from his face when he realized they were serious. He cleared his throat and put on a respectable expression, "Well, let's go, then,"

Armin looked up at Jean with surprise before hurriedly taking his arm back over his shoulder and leading him forward. Eren did the same on the other side and they made it to the patch of trees in half the time.

Jean decided to walk on his own when they made it to the trees, not wanting to look weak and feeble in front of this titan, even if it was his friend…

He cringed then. The thought of a titan being his friend was still a new and unfamiliar and weird to think of.

When they finally made it to the titan, Jean's breathing was heavy and his forehead was sprinkled with sweat. He could tell that the titan had noticed them, but its head was still lowered nonetheless. It didn't even move when Jean and the others walked closer.

Jean looked at Armin before looking back at the titan. His heartbeat increased and he took a deep breath. "…Marco?" He called.

The titan twitched and raised its head just enough that it could see Jean. It gave a pained expression and tried to scoot away from him, pulling against its restraints and collapsing in on itself when it couldn't move more than three feet away.

"Hey, hey, Marco," Jean called, walking up to the titan with his hands raised to try and comfort it, "It's okay, I'm okay. Don't worry," He reluctantly laid his hand on the titan's leg when it still fidgeted and whined.

The titan froze at Jean's touch, trying not to do anything that would hurt him any further.

"That's right," Jean soothed running his hand along the titan's leg, "I'm here, buddy," He tried to get a better look at its face but its head was lowered and covered in its messy black hair. Its legs trembled hugely compared to anything Jean had ever seen and its breathing was heavy and loud, blowing Jean's hair away from his face with each exhale.

Armin and Eren were practically hugging each other as Jean got the titan to move for the first time. They stood a few yards away from him. Mikasa waited for the titan to communicate more with them and sighed when it didn't. She knew Jean could only do so much.

Mikasa silently drew her blades from their holsters on her hips and stalked toward Jean. "Don't move, Jean," She said coolly, raising her right blade above her head.

Jean saw her and whirled around, pressing his back to the titan's leg, "Whoa," He gasped, "What are you doing?" He looked at the blade as it glinted in the dull light. "M-Mikasa?"

She stood still and just before beginning to lower her blade, she gave Jean the slightest of all winks, hoping he would get her message.

Jean caught it and tried to hide his smile, "Aaahhh," He screamed, cowering against the titan's leg, "No, please! Please don't hurt me!" He dramatically slid down and placed his hand before his face, trying to guard himself from the sharp blade.

A feral glint shone in Mikasa's eyes as she readied to swing blade her down. Jean thought he saw something actually aching to kill him and frowned slightly.

A large shadow was cast over Jean and Mikasa as a giant hand lowered to them. Jean's heartbeat still increased at the sight and his legs twitched to run away but he stayed put.

The hand lowered down to Mikasa, pinching the back of her cloak between two fingers and carrying her away from Jean. She swung down when she was far enough that she only swiped the edge of Jean's cast as the other hand scooped him up to safety.

"Whoa," Jean gasped and gave the titan a dazed smile, "Thanks for the save," He tried his best to keep the smile from his face as he studied the titan.

Its eyes shone, looking over Jean to make sure he was unscathed. There was a line between its brows from concern and Jean could almost hear it asking if he was alright.

The smile slid from Jean's face then as he compared the titan's face to that of Marco's. It was shockingly similar. Jean had had Marco's face burned into his memory for so long that the thought of it being any different from when he last saw it alive was unimaginable, but now that he looked at this face and truly pondered into it, it was bluntly obvious.

"Marco," Jean whispered mostly to himself, "is that you?" He stared up at the titan and tears threatened to spill over his eyelashes, "What happened to you?" It was the second time he had asked that, and most likely not the last.

The titan's mouth twitched then. It blinked slowly and raised a finger to Jean's face, pausing slightly before rubbing it over his cheek.

Jean instinctively took a cautious step back when the titan moved its finger toward him, but welcomed it as the warm index rubbed roughly against the whole side of his face. The warmth was a nice advocate against the cold air and Jean found himself leaning into it. He closed his eyes and reveled for a moment before looking back up at the titan.

The look the titan had brought the tears back to Jean's eyes. It was Marco. It had to be him. Its eyes sparkled in a way that he had only seen in Marco. And though it couldn't speak, Jean could feel the calm and reassuring energy humming through its hands.

"You really are Marco," Jean droned, "Aren't you?" He watched as the serenity in the titan's eyes changed to something a bit more melancholy. It brought its face closer to Jean, letting him pat its nose as a low whine whistled through its throat.

Jean got to his knees and hugged as much of the titan has he could, one arm draped over its nose while his face and other arm were pressed to its cheek. Tears flowed own his own cheeks and he swallowed the lump in his throat. "I'm sorry," he croaked through one broken sob, "I'm sorry I turned away from you and that I was so ungrateful when you saved me," He cried even more when the titan purred quietly under his grasp, "I missed you, Marco," He kissed one of giant speckles on the titan's cheek. "I missed you so much it's embarrassing,"

"Then don't admit it to everyone, dumbass," Eren grumbled loudly.

"Shut up, Jaeger!" Jean yelled, wiping at his face and turning away from Marco. He leaned over his hand on his right arm, his left clutched to his chest. "I'm sure you cried too when you saw your squad. You probably bawled like a baby!"

Eren grunted before making a rude gesture with his fingers to Jean and turning around. "We should head back anyway, Corporal Rivaille won't be happy to see you out of bed when you're still injured,"

"Right," Jean said quietly. He turned back to Marco and gave him a sad grin. "I guess I'll see you later then," He felt something flutter in his chest at Marco's beaming face. Even if he was chained up and practically alone, Marco glowed when he looked at Jean. "Bye, Marco," Jean said.

Before he let Jean down from his hand, Marco raised him up to his face one more time. He nuzzled Jean with his nose and gave him a slight peck on the side of his face with warm lips. Jean grunted slightly and yelled at him when he was finally let down and rejoined with his small group. Marco responded with sticking one long finger out before them and tripping Jean with one swipe.

"God, that is so Marco," Jean grunted as his breath was knocked out of him. Armin and Eren helped him to his feet and they continued forward, Jean throwing warning glances at Marco every few steps to make sure that he wasn't planning anything funny.

The titan grinned happily even after the soldiers were out of his sight.

Corporal Levi Rivaille watched with his usual detached expression as many of the new recruits flew around the heads of the training titans and found the best ways to kill them and avoid as many casualties as possible at the same time. Most of them got caught within mere moments of being sent out and gave high-pitched screams as they were slowly lifted towards the any one of the titans' mouths before being gently placed on one of the lower branches of the giant trees. Some even laughed when caught, much to Levi's disgust.

He folded his arms over his chest as one girl with curly red hair was sent down to face all four titans. She waited patiently until she was completely surrounded by them, twisting her head around at all angles to get a look at where each titan was before letting her maneuver gear come unhooked from the tree she was perched on and spiraling into a freefall as different hands reached for her. She shot into a tree just a split second before she made contact with the earth and zipped through what would be Auruo's legs at a blinding pace.

Eld quickly caught onto the action and made another grab for her, but the girl did an outstanding twirl and sliced down, purposely missing his fingers before running up the length of his arm and stabbing the hooks of her 3DMG into his back and zipping up to that back of his neck. She jumped away and on to Petra when Eld dramatically fell to the ground in mock defeat. She easily took down the female and moved to Auruo then Gunter, using Auruo's sporadic movements to her advantage by climbing onto his arm as he swung up to get catapulted into the air before crashing down onto his neck, making him freeze with wide eyes.

A small round of applause rang out through the recruits as the girl was gingerly lifted onto an empty branch and a group of three was chosen next, faced with two deviant titans. The point of these exercises was to teach each recruit what to do in any scenario with random comrades and afflictions to their maneuver gear.

Levi silently flew up next to the girl as she watched the recruits battle the titans with small, wide eyes. "Good morning, Corporal," The girl said without moving her eyes.

"Whatever," Levi muttered, "You did well out there by yourself,"

"Thank you, sir," The girl nodded her head, "I was taught by my brother," she looked further down when one soldier was caught by Petra in a corner. The young man screamed as one of his cables was snagged in her grip and he plummeted to the ground. He thanked her graciously when she caught him in the nick of time and placed him on one of the lower branches before moving on to the other soldiers.

"But your strategy is weak," Levi quickly got to the point, "You don't seem to work well with others and tend to abandon your teammates when the situation gets tough,"

The girl looked at Levi in confusion, "I was on a solo run, sir. I had no teammates,"

"But, if you had, what would you do?" Levi looked at the girl, his eyes not seeming to care.

The girl paused before looking back down at the titans. "I would protest them with my life, sir," She said finally.

"That's a good answer," Levi said, "But also wrong." He didn't look at the girl. "You must make sure that there is some kind of window for you to go through when saving your comrades. Don't act stupidly in the line of fire or you both will get killed for sure,"

"With all due respect, sir," The girl said with an edge in her voice, "I don't fight blindly; I make sure to analyze every situation I'm in before acting upon it." She looked at Levi with ice in her stare, "I know when to act and when to stay down, but even if I saw the smallest of opportunities to save someone, I would leap at it,"

"And if you were against a deviant?"

The girl paused again, "Excuse me, sir?"

Levi looked at the girl, "If you were against a deviant? What if you and your squad were faced off with a group of unpredictable titans and you were the only one to not get captured; would you fight to keep your companions alive or would you run and save your own skin?"

"I don't understand the question, sir," The girl gave a confused look.

"Then ponder into it before your next lesson and make your decision and stay with it," Levi flew off then, returning to his original spot at the highest level of the tree where he could watch each of the recruits. He didn't talk to any others before the session was over and ignored all that approached him afterward. He passively watched as a few of the recruits flew up to the practicing titans and asked them questioned to which they struggled to answer audibly. He caught sight of Petra smiling and something rang out through him.

Levi jumped from the branch he was on and shot his maneuver cables forward, shooting away from the small clearing and to the outskirts of the forest before grounding next to his horse. He quickly mounted and kicked his ankles into its sides making it rear up slightly before speeding forward to camp.

**{sorry it took me so long to get this chapter published, I have no idea what the fuck I'm doing so bear with me. I will definitely post a lot more when I finally get more comfortable with this. Thank you for reading and reviewing!}**


	3. Chapter 3

**{I finally figured out how to add chapters! YahOO! I will post more chapters before Christmas, maybe 2 or 3 depending on how I'm feeling and how many reviews I get! Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy!}**

"Alright," Hanji yelled as Jean and Eren unhooked the clamps and restraints from around Marco's neck, "We only have about an hour to do this so please make it quick," She used her maneuver gear to fly to one of the higher reaching branches in the surrounding trees where she casually perched like an owl to observe the reaches below. She pulled out a notebook and a stopwatch for later references. "Yell when you are ready," She called down to the soldiers.

Mikasa stood in the branch opposite of Hanji and checked her maneuver gear, making sure that everything was working as it should. She ran a gentle finger over one of her blades, cutting her finger to test the sharpness, "Ready when you are," She said in a calm voice that carried down to Eren and Jean.

Jean noticed Marco had an uncomfortable expression on his face as he took off the metal shackles around his ankles. "Hey," he said, "Nothing bad is going to happen today," He put a reassuring hand on Marco's leg, "we all trust you and know that any injuries that come from this are not your fault," he raised his fist to Marco then, "Remember?"

Marco sighed then, lifting the knuckle of his index to Jean's hand. He bumped it with the slightest of all force before stretching out his finger and ruffling Jean's hair with it. He grinned when Jean swatted his hand away, letting him onto his hand as he stood.

Jean very gingerly jumped from Marco's outstretched hand and to the branch which Hanji stood before turning around and looking down at the titan. Now that he stood at a higher level than him, Jean finally noticed how big Marco actually was. He could have easily been taller than Eren's titan.

Breathing was a little easier now, but not by much. He leaned against the tree and took deep breaths, massaging his side where it was starting to cramp.

"I envy you right now," Hanji said from behind him in a light voice. "The way Marco just lets you climb into his hand without hesitation is simply fascinating,"

"I'm sure he would let you do the same if you wanted," Jean said absently, looking down at the titan as Mikasa finally swung out before him. "All you really have to do is ask,"

"Wonderful," Hanji said as she started her stopwatch and readied her pen for some serious note taking. "Say, Jean, would you mind holding this while I write a few things down?" She offered the small watch to Jean who took it and reset it in his palm.

"Ready?" Hanji called down to Mikasa and Marco. Eren silently flew up to the branch just above where Jean and Hanji stood and sat down, watching intently.

"Ready," Mikasa called.

Marco gave one nod.

"Go!" Hanji yelled down with excitement.

Jean slammed his thumb into the stopwatch and watched as Mikasa made the first move.

It was quick, lightning fast even. Jean knew that if he hadn't been watching that he would have never caught sight of her again as she let loose the hooks on her maneuver gear and just as quickly shot it into a tree behind Marco's ear, zipping past him like a bug. Jean feared that Marco would actually end up getting hurt from this exercise, but that thought was quashed quickly as it came as Marco whirled around in the opposite direction from which Mikasa was coming so that he was behind her as she flew into the tree.

Jean studied Marco and Marco studied Mikasa. His bright eyes took in every aspect of her being; the way she held herself on that tree, the way her eyes swept over everything in a feverish attempt to find a new line of attack, the way in which her blades were tilted away from her body. He studied it all and flashed through different ways of catching her without causing injury. They continued like that for only a moment before Mikasa dropped and tried to sweep at his ankles.

Marco waited until last minute, when he could feel the breeze before Mikasa's blade, before kicking both legs up, missing the swords by less than a foot. He landed nimbly, hardly making a sound as he whirled back around to face the tiny soldier.

Mikasa flitted forward again, swinging her blades and spinning like a tornado.

Marco ducked under the cables and threw his head and hand forward, not really looking but feeling where Mikasa was in the rush of air that hit his hand as she flew upward. He changed the direction of his hand in a split second and felt her hit into his palm. He closed his fingers around her, ripping her cables from the tree they were stabbed into. He felt one of her blades pinched between his pinky and ring finger and the other stuck in the small gap between his thumb and index. Blood spilled onto the back of his hand—his blood—as the blade between his pinky and ring finger dug into the flesh by his knuckle.

Jean stopped the watch and stared down at Marco in astonishment. Eren's breath caught and even Hanji was speechless.

"Marco…" Jean said in a quiet voice as the blood ran down the creature's hand. He could still see Mikasa's legs, but they weren't moving and that scared him.

Marco lifted his head to Jean and looked at him, giving a slight smirk and raising his brow before lifting his hand so that it was right in front of him and Hanji. He slowly opened his palm to show a stunned Mikasa with rumpled hair, her blades stuck between his fingers.

All were speechless as they looked at Mikasa, completely unscathed but still beaten.

Hanji broke the silence with a yowl of happiness. "Yahoo!" She screamed in Jean's ear, knocking him from his reverie, "Awesome work, Marco! That was fantastic!" She helped Mikasa from the titan's hand before feverishly scrawling down a patch of illiterate notes that almost burned a hole through the paper of her notebook.

Jean blinked a little before looking down at the stopwatch. 2:13. His eyes widened. "That was fast, Marco," He said in a winded voice, "That was…incredibly fast, actually," He looked down at the watch for a moment more before giving his friend a congratulatory smile and jumping into his hand. "Nice work, Man," He bantered as he was raised to the titan's shoulder.

Jean hesitated only a moment before he stumbled onto Marco's shoulder, tripping over a slight ridge in the muscle surrounding it. He sat down and rested on Marco's neck, letting the warmth seep into his cold body with a deep sigh.

"Wait!" Hanji cried before Marco could start walking back through the trees, "Let's do one more test, just for clarity's sake. I need to make sure that wasn't just beginner's luck." Her eyes gleamed as she watched the titan shrug and place Jean back onto the tree branch and return to a fighting stance.

Jean let Hanji record the time from his stopwatch before resetting it and looking at the titan with confidence. He gave the beast a thumbs up and winked at him with a smirk.

Hanji stood for a moment, rubbing her chin and thinking, looking from Marco to Mikasa to Eren. "Actually Marco," She looked up at Eren, "Let's start this one in more realistic circumstances."

Marco's eyebrows knit together.

"Why don't we start with you walking through the trees; Eren, will you help Mikasa this time also?" She looked up at the young man for an answer.

Eren nodded and shot off east, the whirring of his maneuver gear fading quickly into the trees.

"Mikasa, you go with him and tell him not to shift. This is only an exercise with regular soldiers," Hanji sent off the girl and pointed for Marco to go out in the opposite direction.

Jean waited for Hanji's ringing cue to start the watch this time, searching the forest for the sign of either the soldiers or Marco. There wasn't a sound for what seemed like forever but Jean looked down to see that it was only fifteen seconds. He reset the watch again and waited until he heard the hiss of gas to his right to start it again.

Marco finally lumbered into Jean's sight and he jammed his thumb into the button, watching intently as Eren and Mikasa swung up to the titan with their blades drawn.

Marco analyzed the soldiers coming toward him with still eyes before he ducked under them, turning around so he was behind them.

Mikasa caught on quickly and flipped her feet into the air so she was upside down and had a visual on Marco as she flew away from him. She twisted her body and tried to disappear into the trees but it seemed like everywhere she went, Marco still had a sight on her.

Eren was more driven by impatience and tried to go straight for the kill at every chance he got, swinging his swords wildly. Marco could hear as they swished past his ears.

They fought like this for only a few moments before Mikasa finally caught Eren's eye and they silently made their final plan of attack. Mikasa went down and Eren moved back.

Mikasa was the first to move, catching her hooks into a tall branch and shooting up so that she ran along Marco's side.

Marco caught onto this quickly enough and waited for the right moment to strike. He listened as the hiss grew closer before throwing out his arm, his hand in a fist, and bending the cable before it got to its desired branch.

Mikasa gasped as Marco's long arm was hurled into her vision and the world was suddenly spinning. The cables of her 3DMG were wrapped tightly around his forearm at a breakneck speed and she slammed into the inside of his arm before the remaining hooks were wound around her legs, torso and shoulders.

"Mikasa!" Eren yelled as he catapulted himself forward, hoping to get a cross section and dive under Marco's chin as he turned around before jabbing his cables into the titan's neck and finishing this lesson, but he misinterpreted how fast the titan could comprehend things and move his neck for Marco's head whirled around much quicker than hoped for and opened his mouth wide. He caught Eren by the left leg before closing his mouth, using his lips to keep the soldier fastened into place.

Eren let his arms hang above his head as he was held in Marco's mouth by only his leg. His eyes were wide and frightful and he held his breath when Marco turned his head to face Jean and Hanji. His leg itched where Marco held him, but he didn't speak for fear of his voice cracking.

Marco slowly lifted the arm with Mikasa tied around it for Jean and Hanji to see before walking over to the tree and letting Eren out of his mouth and onto his hand. He smiled apologetically at the stunned soldier as he laid him down as gently as possible on the wide branch.

"Brilliant!" Hanji screamed and jumped around, clicking her heels and clapping Eren on the back with too much force, "Absolutely brilliant! I have never seen something so fascinating in all my life!"

Marco looked at her for a moment before raising his hand and untying Mikasa from his forearm. His gaze held the weight of a thousand apologies as he tried to move as quickly as possible without letting her slip at the same time. It took a few minutes, but Mikasa was finally in a sitting position and Marco lifted his wrist to the branch to let her off.

"Nice job, Marco," Mikasa said quietly before hopping nimbly off his wrist and onto the branch where she immediately tended to Eren. There were red lines on her arms where the cables wrapped around them too tightly but she paid no mind to them as she pushed up her sleeves.

"Well, I know not to piss you off, now," Jean laughed as he walked up to Marco, "You were even faster this time than before. Even with two opponents!" He tried not to laugh at Eren's tousled hair.

Marco hitched and smiled without showing his teeth but rather letting a hot plume of steam blow from his mouth and the holes in his cheeks, coating Jean and the others in hotness.

"Thank you, Marco," Hanji sighed, "That heat feels nice." She smiled to herself as she inspected Eren, poking at his arms and wiping the slobber from his boot with a gentle finger. "You can leave, now, if you want,"

Jean nodded at the titan and waited as his hand was raised to the tree, gently hopping into it and leaning on one long thumb. He retook his cozy position between the ridges of Marco's shoulder, shivering as the heat seeped into his back and legs.

"One more thing," Hanji called before the two left. She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose before continuing. "I want you to come with me when we talk about letting Marco train with the others, Jean," She stared eerily at Jean for a long time before her usual smile returned to her face and she waved them off excitedly.

They walked for a moment before Jean and Marco looked at each other at the same time, snorting at the sudden intimidating stance that Hanji sometimes put on.

D.P.O.V

Jean took a long, deep breath before walking into his commander's office. He had Squad Leader Hanji Zoe and her assistant, Moblit, behind him and Armin to his right, but he was still filled with butterflies as he walked into the small room. The sun was shining and there seemed to be a happy energy in the room despite Corporal Rivaille looking at him with bored eyes that seemed to judge him.

Jean cleared his throat. "Commander Erwin I would like to talk to you about the matter of no longer restraining that titan with the freckles." He gave a valiant solute and held his breath as the tall, blond man turned to him. He stared at the man's killer eyebrows for only a moment before looking down in embarrassment.

"Continue," Commander Erwin said patiently. He looked at Jean with polite interest and folded his hands together, hiding his mouth behind his interlocked fingers.

"Um," Jean stuttered, "I have managed to communicate with it and it seems to be like the other deviants we found. It even saved me when another soldier pretended to try killing me," Jean swallowed at the thought of the wild look in Mikasa's eyes as she raised her sword above her head, instinctively fingering the slight knick in his cast. It seemed that he would rub that or his thumbnail when he grew nervous nowadays.

"Really," Commander Erwin said in a lightly conversational voice. He looked at Rivaille a moment before speaking to Jean again. "You seem to be quite the swooning maiden these days, recruit," He smirked at Jean before silence fell over them.

Jean looked behind him to Hanji who gestured for him to continue. "Sir," He began, "that titan, however odd this may sound, has its own level of humanity within it and I think it would be an excellent thing to have with those training recruits."

"Well," Erwin said testily, "I didn't see anything particularly unique about it. Why don't you enlighten us?"

Jean answered almost immediately. "It's incredibly fast. Much faster than Eren when he's in titan form. And it is also very stealthy, almost silent when it moves." He swallowed nervously, "I think he would be good for the trainees because he's unpredictable and smart,"

"Unpredictability doesn't sound like something very good when referring to a titan," Corporal Rivaille spoke up in a cool voice, "It could result in catastrophe,"

"That isn't what I meant to say," Jean back pedaled quickly, "I meant—I mean…the titan is trustworthy and completely harmless but…he analyzes every situation he's in and acts upon that. He only acts out of the norm when he knows what kind of person he's going up against."

"Yes?" Erwin said, rubbing a thumb along his jaw.

"Sir, if he gets even a moment to see how some of the new recruits act when fighting, he can pick out patterns and find some kind of strategy that goes against everything they know, making him the best teacher we have at this moment and also one of humanities best chances against all of these shifters popping up,"

"That doesn't really sound like a good idea," Commander Erwin said, sitting down in his desk and returning to a thinking stance. "A titan that can counter attack anyone it observes…"

"He beat Mikasa Ackerman, sir," Hanji piped up. She had a serious expression that made the hairs rise on Jean's neck, "I gave permission to lift his restraints for an hour yesterday to see what he was capable of and he captured Miss Ackerman in less than five minutes, removing her swords in the process," She looked at Erwin with a knowing expression, "Listen to Mr. Kirchstein,"

Erwin looked at Hanji for a moment before nodding back to Jean and Armin.

"Sir, I was talking with some of the other strategists and we came to the conclusion that if we use this titan with our training exercises, we could teach our recruits and anyone willing to participate how to strategize and adjust to the worst case scenario in half the time it would regularly take them to come up with a plan of either escape or attack and even follow through with it successfully." Armin spoke, looking down at the pieces of paper held in his hands. They were shaking slightly and he tried to steady them with a deep breath.

"Interesting," Erwin said, returning his mouth to the back of his hands. He thought for what felt like an eternity to Jean and Armin before letting his eyes wander to the corner of the ceiling. He kept them there for another moment before slowly returning them back to Jean. "Alright," he said closing his eyes and standing. He walked around his desk and leaned against it, putting his hands at either of his sides on the desk. "I'll let the titan train with the others." He looked over to Levi and back to Jean, "I will observe for a week and if I think it really is as incredible as you say, I will let him stay,"

Jean exhaled slightly, feeling his back relax.

Erwin stood and walked up to Jean, standing over him ominously. "But if I don't like it, or I get any bad feeling about this stunt, he goes back into restraints and you will be persecuted for endangering you and your comrades without my knowing it."

Jean swallowed and stared into Erwin's bright blue eyes. He felt the heat drain from his face and he nodded vaguely.

Erwin smiled at the young man's reaction and leaned back. He shoved his hand in front of Jean, "It's been nice working with you," He said, giving Jean and Armin's hands a firm shake.

Jean, Armin, Hanji, and Moblit all gave a solute before filtering out of the room quietly. Armin was quiet until they got outside into the cold air. "That didn't go as well as I thought it would have," He said weakly.

"Same here," Jean mumbled.

"Oh, don't worry," Hanji laughed. "The Commander only does that to scare ya," She waved a hand at Jean and Armin, giving them a reassuring glance. "And Marco will to excellent this week,"

Jean stared forward at the ground, imagining the kind of punishment he and all the others would get for going behind Erwin's orders. "I hope you're right," He said.

**{That was so much fun writing! Please review on how I did the fighting scene, I'm still a little rusty at that! The next chapters will have more with the other titans and Levi! Thanks for reading and Merry Christmas!}**


	4. Chapter 4

Levi watched passively as Jean picked at his food. He would occasionally lift his spoon to his mouth but drop it back into his bowl with a sigh before running his hands through his hair and staring at the table for another moment before trying again. The droplets of creamy soup encircling Jean's bowl were making Levi want to punch him in the face.

"If you're going to make such a mess with your food, go outside you twit," Levi said coolly. He sipped at his tea before gently placing his cup down and crossing his legs. "There is no use stressing over something you can't control, after all,"

"Sorry, sir," Jean mumbled to the table. He wiped up the crumbs and left over soup around him before standing. "It's been a long day. I'm going outside if that's alright," He waited for Levi's nod of approval before walking toward the door, giving Sasha his left over food when she asked for it.

"I really don't understand why he's freaking out so much over Marco." Eren said looking toward the door. "I mean, he beat me _and_ Mikasa in only a few minutes; I doubt he'll have any trouble with all the newbies,"

"Jean is scared for his friend," Levi said in a dismissive voice that pierced through the air despite its low volume. "He knows that if Marco does pose too much of a threat to us that he won't just be locked up, but killed," Levi slowly let his eyes meet Eren's, "And if our theory of these deviants being former soldiers is correct, it will be twice as hard to let his missing comrade go down in ashes again,"

"But Marco wouldn't do anything to hurt anyone," Eren said, earning nods of agreement from his comrades, "He was always the one that would calm us down and keep us from doing anything rash,"

Levi sipped his tea again before nodding slightly. "But there is still no proof that it really is him," He said before standing and leaving the room. His footsteps echoed through the room before the door to outside closed behind him.

It was slightly warmer outside tonight than it had been previous nights that week. Levi didn't really need his jacket even, but goose bumps still rose on his arms and the back of his neck as he continued forward to where he knew Hanji was.

Levi was honestly and obviously annoyed by Hanji and her ecstatic ways, but he didn't hate her company. One might even be able to say he enjoyed her theories on the titans and their ways. He liked hearing when people were passionate about something rather than obsessed with it and while Hanji was past the point of obsession with her titan antics, she also didn't ask questions she already knew the answer to.

Levi silently made it to the thick pass of trees behind the castle Utgard. Dusk was falling quickly, the sun already making its next decent behind the mountains in the north and Levi passed many soldiers going inside for the night. He ignored their polite salutations and slipped into the trees.

One voice could be heard carrying through the trees as Levi made his way silently. He immediately recognized it as Hanji, most likely talking fantasies to the titans. It became clearer and clearer as Levi continued to walk, his footsteps growing quieter.

"…Oh, if only you all could have been there to see it!" Hanji said dreamily with the sound of a fire blazing next to her, "Eren was fantastic at taking that female titan down. Of course he had a few helping hands from Levi and the others, but we could never have taken her down without his talent," Hanji continued to babble, talking about Annie getting captured and then somehow concealing her whole body in a thick crystal barrier that was now hidden underground and completely guarded by military police 24/7.

"What are you still doing out here?" Levi asked as he came into the clearing. All four of his former squad were sitting cross-legged a ways away from the fire, but still in the conversation nonetheless. Levi acknowledged them with a nod.

"I should ask you the same thing, corporal," Hanji said with a wide smile. "I was just explaining to these guys how we managed to beat that female titan,"

"I could hear you," Levi said dismissively. He sat next to Hanji on a long log in front of the fire and stared into the hot light. "I came to speak with you." He looked up at the titans in front of him, "all of you,"

Hanji grew silent as Levi sat up straight. "That fifth titan that was found with you is going to help you train the new and practicing recruits next week." He stood then and walked closer, looking each titan in the eye. "He could be dangerous. Only one person has managed communication him and he has proven to be powerful and smart," Auruo grunted and Petra and Gunter exchanged a look.

"We trust you," Levi said in a strong voice, "So we need you to keep an eye on him and protect the others if he starts acting out," He looked at Eld who seemed to be the leader of the group, "Even if that means you have to kill him."

Silence hung like a death toll in the air as this all sunk into the titans. They seemed to process it well before each nodding their agreement. Levi nodded as well before taking his seat next to Hanji. It was only quiet for a moment before Hanji resumed her fanatical stories of the titans.

Levi stared into the fire with unemotional eyes. He gradually tuned out the sounds of Hanji's blabbering and the loud breathing of the titans sitting across the way. He barely noticed when Hanji roughly slammed her shoulder into his.

"Well," Hanji sighed, standing and stretching her arms over her head. "I'm turning in for the night! Gunter, would you mind putting out the fire?" She gestured to the flames with her head and watched happily as Gunter lifted his giant hand and slammed it down on the flames, suffocating the heat and light until it was no more. Hanji yawned hugely and waved to her titans, "Goodnight folks!" She giddily but sleepily walked out of the trees, leaving Levi with his former squad and his thoughts in the near dark.

Again, the silence was threatening as Levi slowly regained his composure. He blinked once, the shadow and image of fire still emblazoned on the back of his eyelids, before looking back at the titans. The details on their bodies were hidden in the darkness and that made them look more human, comforting Levi to an extent as he stood to leave. "Goodnight," Levi nodded to each of them again before making his way out of the clearing.

He made it to the cover of trees again before a voice carried up from behind him. "Good nigh', Corp-ral," it said in soft tones.

Levi stopped where he was and stood still. He was certain that he had heard the voice, but he couldn't be sure that he had heard it correctly. He was hidden in the dark from the titans behind him, but Levi knew that they could still sense him there. He swallowed once before looking down and continuing forward, still hearing the high but low voice of Petra speaking in his head as he made it back to castle Utgard.

D.P.O.V.

"I don't know what we're going to do next week, Marco," Jean said stressfully as he sat in front of the beast. He ran his hands through his hair, leaving his fingers tangled in it at the back as he stared down at the space between his legs. "If you fight and show the Commander how good you actually are, you could still get killed by posing a threat to us, but if you get beaten by someone after beating Mikasa the other day you will look useless and therefore, probably get killed."

Marco looked at Jean with a look of sarcasm, rolling his massive brown eyes. He gave a frustrated sigh when Jean wouldn't look at him, blowing hot air in his direction with exaggeration. He reached forward and nudged Jean's shoulder in what could only be a gesture of brotherly comfort.

Jean ignored Marco and tried to think of something they could do to prevent what he knew was still going to happen. Marco sighed again and nudged Jean harder to no avail.

Marco blew steam through is nose at Jean's childish ignorance and finally resorted to flicking him in the back of the head with a low _thwack_ and a grunt of displeasure from Jean.

"_OW_," Jean yelled rubbing his head and glaring up at Marco, "Maybe we should just let them kill you," He grumbled and swatted Marco's hand away from him.

Marco snorted and cupped his hand, scooping Jean up from behind and lifting him up to his face. Jean still glared and grumbled but Marco insisted on being a nuisance to him and nuzzling him with his nose, emitting purrs and hitches from deep within his throat. Eventually, he got Jean to look at him with teary eyes. They were a sad sight to Marco and he nuzzled Jean with extra passion before pulling his face away to look at him.

"I can't lose you again," Jean said in a broken voice, "I can't throw you in the line of fire knowing that something could go wrong," He sniffed and wiped his nose on his sleeve.

Marco gave a sympathetic look and nuzzled Jean again, his eyes half-lidded as if to say that nothing bad was going to happen. A long, deep purr crawled from his throat, making Jean's back teeth vibrate comfortingly.

Jean reached forward and rubbed his hand along Marco's nose. He found refuge in the warmth as it pulsed through his palm and into the rest of his body with silent relief.

"I love you, Marco," Jean said, hugging Marco's nose, "You're my best friend,"

He stayed with Marco until night fell, waving his goodbyes with a heavy arm and even heavier heart.

D.P.O.V

"I don't know if we should be doing this, Henry," Simon said as he followed his copper-haired friend through the forest. Henry ignored him and kept forward, pulling his hood around his ears. Simon continued, "What if something happens? We could get caught!"

"Will you shut it?" Henry whispered sharply, whirling around and scowling at Simon in the dark. "There won't be anyone to catch us if you would clamp your fat mouth shut," He back pedaled when Simon gave him a hurt look.

"Sorry," Simon said.

"No," Henry whispered in a low voice, "don't be. I shouldn't have snapped at you." He gave Simon a grin then, "but let's go see those titans; you already know that they won't hurt anyone, right? What damage is one peek going to do?"

"We shouldn't be out after dark," Simon said warningly, "it's dangerous,"

Henry shrugged. "How bad can it be? You said yourself that all titans go inactive after the sun goes down. What makes these ones any different?"

"Well, they haven't tried killing us," Simon listed, "And the Corporal and that Eren kid recognized them as former humans,"

"Details, details," Henry waved. "Are you coming with me or not?"

Simon looked back at the fading lights of castle Utgard for only a moment before nodding at Henry. "I'm familiar with most of them anyway. I can keep you out of trouble," He smirked at the back of Henry's head.

"You can only do that if there is trouble for us to get into," Henry returned the smirk, "Which there shouldn't be because you are going to be quiet the rest of the way there. Right?"

"Right," Simon whispered and closed his mouth, following Henry through the thick forest.

They continued forward for a few more minutes before Simon stopped in his tracks. He looked around for a moment before looking back at Henry. "Do you even know where we are?" He asked.

"Yes," Henry said rolling his eyes. He pointed to a rounded thickening of the trees with a white hand that seemed to glow under the almost-full moon. "It's just through there; I can hear them breathing." He lowered his voice. "Are you ready for this?" He asked.

"Are you?" Simon whispered sarcastically, "You look like you're gonna throw up from anticipation,"

Henry shot him a look and continued forward, his footsteps getting lighter and more exaggerated. A light sheet of sweat beaded his forehead but he still put one foot in front of the other until they made it to a clear pass of trees where he stopped after making it to solid ground devoid of thick underbrush.

"I—I don't see it," Simon stuttered, stepping a little closer to Henry in fright. "I don't see anything, really," He looked up at the canopy of tree tops over their heads that blocked the moon from view. "I think we turned the wrong way,"

"Don't be stupid," Henry said in the darkness, "I know exactly where we are—" He was cut off by the sharp sound of a twig snapping to their right.

"What was that?" Simon asked in a high voice. He could feel his legs begin to shake where he stood. "I seriously think we turned the wrong way, Henry,"

"Shut up," Henry hissed, "We aren't los—" again he was cut off, but this time something had grabbed his leg and was now yanking him away from Simon.

"Henry!" Simon yelled and went to run in the direction of his friends screams. Something big blocked his vision and he felt large fingers wrap around his waist and torso, lifting him off the ground with ease.

"Simon!" Henry cried, his voice cracking, "Simon one of them got me! We're gonna die!"

Simon struggled and writhed under the firm grasp of the titan that had caught him. He wanted to cry as well when he was brought up to its face, feeling hot, rank breath on his face.

"Petra!" Simon gasped when he saw the titans face. Tears of relief spilled over his lashes and rolled down his cheeks. "Oh, thank God almighty!"

Henry could still be heard struggling in the darkness. Simon looked over and faintly saw him swinging by one leg before what looked to be Gunter and Eld. His face was red and he was blubbering some kind of last pray to himself as Eld and Gunter laughed silently at him.

Auruo grunted, bringing Simon back to the present. He looked back at Petra and sighed. "We got lost while coming back from a late practice with some other friends and we thought we knew where we were going but Henry and me got too sure of ourselves and kept wandering without looking around where we were." He lied on the spot, figuring that telling the truth would get them in more trouble.

Petra smiled and Auruo's mouth twitched. Henry had since stopped crying and was now sniffling up at Gunter with wide blue eyes.

"Do you think you could point us back to camp, Petra?" Simon asked with a pleading glance. "We promise not to do it again,"

Petra nodded and set Simon down. She looked in Eld and Gunter's direction and hitched her voice. Gunter looked over and gently let Henry down but until after giving him one of those freaky smiles that other titans had plastered on their odd faces.

Henry wasted no time as he scrambled back over to Simon, practically tackling his friend to the ground and using him as a shield.

Petra pointed past Auruo to the south where a small path could be seen. The ground was mostly devoid of any plant life from being stepped on so much.

Simon's eyes lit up as he was shown a path to home. He smiled up at Petra, grabbing Henry by the shoulders and pushing him to their exit. "You are and angel from heaven, Petra," He praised graciously, "We owe you big time," He waved to the titans and pushed Henry on toward home.

Henry still sniffled slightly until he knew they were far enough away that the titans could no longer hear him. "That was so cool!" He said as they rounded a corner. "Didn't you see the way that one with the black hair was holding me by the leg?"

"That's Gunter," Simon said rolling his eyes, "And, yes, I did see the way you were practically shitting yourself," He laughed, earning a sharp elbow to the ribs from Henry.

"I was acting," Henry defended.

"You were not!" Simon laughed. "You've never cried that hard in your life!" He laughed as they made it back to the largest clearing where castle Utgard was.

"Hence the acting!" Henry concluded with a dumb expression. "You need to think things through, man. I had that planned out _way_ before we even got there,"

"Whatever," Simon scoffed looking forward. He stopped dead in his tracks when he realized where they were. More appropriately, where they weren't.

"Wasn't this where Petra pointed us to?" Simon asked, pointing to the empty area in front of them.

"Oh, no," Henry groaned, "Don't tell me we're lost," He looked at Simon desperately before swearing under his breath. "My feet hurt, Simon," He complained sitting down in the grass with a thud.

"Maybe we just passed it." Simon suggested, "It wouldn't be the first time it's happened," He tried to stay positive, figuring that _two_ grumpy soldiers wouldn't be good for anyone. "Let's just walk back over that hill and see if we can see anything," He looked down hopefully at Henry who sighed before standing up.

"I really hope you're right, Simon," Henry groaned. He let Simon take the lead as they retraced their steps back a few yards before stopping and listening.

The night was silent save for the wind's groaning as it raced through the trees, making the leaves on them shudder. It was actually a rather beautiful night with not a single cloud in the sky. Henry frowned though, knowing all too well that the weather always got a little warmer just before it began to snow.

"What was that?" Simon hissed in the dark. The moon made his hair look white and ghostly adding a supernatural chill to the air.

Henry followed Simon's gaze as he stared into the trees with narrowed eyes. "It's probably just a deer," He said shakily, "They don't have big animals here do they?" He looked at Simon, who only shrugged. He didn't look at Henry, too occupied with skimming the forest for the source of the faint rustle he heard.

"Maybe my mind is just playing tricks on me," Simon said, finally tearing his eyes away from the trees to look at Henry. "I don't think I'm going to practice tomorrow. Just to clear my head, yeah?" He looked at Henry with tired relief in his eyes.

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Henry said with a half-smile. They continued forward before reaching the top of the slight hill. It didn't really give them as much an advantage as Simon was thinking but they still looked around, searching desperately for a light or a trail of smoke; something to lead them back to their camp.

A low growl was heard just behind them on the other side of the hill.

Both boys whirled around at the sound, clinging closer to each other. "I definitely heard it that time," Henry said. He looked around for something moving in the moonlight but all he got was shadows.

The growl was heard again but more to the right and accompanied by others.

"I don't remember hearing about wolves when we got here," Simon whispered in a weak voice.

"I do!" Henry yelled and broke off in a sprint of desperation. He yanked Simon by the hand behind them and they swiftly ran away from the pack of canines quickly pursuing them. Snarls and howls reverberated off the trees behind them as they made it into another wide patch of trees, trying to run in zig-zags to slow down the predators behind them.

"Help!" Simon screamed through the forest as they ran. His voice was shaky and rang with hysteria. "Someone help us, please!" They continued to run, sometimes losing each other through the trees but always able to hear the other cry for help.

D.P.O.V

Marco let his eyes close contently as he daydreamed. He didn't even mind the metal shackles anymore. He listened to the soft song of a night bird as he dreamt of the ocean and rolling hills of golden grass. His mind may not have worked the same way as it used to, but the cogs and gears were still there, just needing a run over with a dust rag and maybe a little oil here and there. The night was still as he drifted, still conscious of his surroundings, but in a different celestial plane. The wind howled in his ears.

Marco opened his eyes once more. That howl sounded a little different from the ones he had grown so accustomed to in the night. He listened for it again but it didn't come, only silence.

Marco settled down once again, wanting to hear that strange howl but figuring it was just his mind playing tricks.

The howl came again, harmonized with a few others and a scream.

Marco sat up, the movement pulling on his restraints. He could hear something running through the forest just a few meters behind him. Two sets of heavier footfalls were followed by light, swift ones, moving through the forest like ghosts.

"Help!" Someone screamed into the air. It might have been familiar to Marco if it weren't so broken and quaky. "Someone, help us, please!" Marco could tell it was a younger male but nothing other than that. There was someone else with him, but they remained mostly silent, panting heavily.

Marco pulled on his restraints. He fought with more vigor when the other person cried for help as well as the first, making the cold metal groan under the strain. The chain on his right arm broke first, then his left. He grabbed the clamp around his neck and broke it with a loud _crack!_ that caught up to the screaming soldiers.

"Shit!" Henry yelled after dodging the foaming mouth of a dog that had caught up to them. He continued to run next to Simon with a red face and aching legs, "shitshitshitshit_shit_!" He wanted to turn his head to the left to get a look at whatever was making that loud groaning noise but he forcefully kept his eyes forward as he ran for his life. "There is something else out here, Simon!"

"I know!" Simon cried in a high voice, "Just focus on this right now, Henry!"

"I don't want to die, Simon," Henry said in an eerily calm voice. "Not like this,"

"I don't either!" Simon said quickly, "But save you breath until we get away from here!"

"I can't," Henry wailed to the sky, "It hurts so much, Simon,"

"Yes you can," Simon said with strength he didn't have. "We're gonna make—" A loud crashing cut Simon's words off. He looked forward to see something pale and white zooming toward them. A stark cropping of black hair was placed messily at the top of a tall mass with red muscles showing in places it shouldn't have been as it raced forward.

"Titan!" Henry screamed as the beast approached them like a death threat.

"Wait!" Simon called as Henry went to run in the opposite direction. He grabbed the young man and kept him running forward. "I know that titan! It's the one that saved that other soldier on the day we found Petra and the others,"

Marco ran forward and ducked down, grabbing Simon and Henry with a jarring force that gave both boys whiplash and made them lose the feeling in their legs. They screamed to the heavens, still unsure of what was to happen to them next. Thhe wolves barked and yipped below Marco, some already putting their tails between their legs and running away and out of the forest.

"We are so screwed if you're wrong," Henry whispered to Simon not looking at him but up at Marco. He stared at the way Marco's nostrils flared still and his eyes glowed wildly as he tried to calm down from all the running he had just done with wide eyes that filled with tears.

"I'm not," Simon hissed. "How else would he be able to still be awake with the sun down like this? It's him, I know it," Simon nodded up at the titan with a trusting gaze.

Marco heard their little argument but didn't listen, making it just background noise as he scanned the forest for any other possible danger. He found none and so looked down at the boys, grunting and shifting his gaze from one to the other. Realizing that Marco was asking if they were alright, Simon and Henry nodded their heads feverishly.

"We're okay," Simon said in a loud but weak voice, "Thanks for the save," He earned a nod from Marco and both boys were lifted onto either of Marco's shoulders as he started walking forward, knowing the way to castle Utgard from the brief description Jean had given him only a few days prior.

"Eh, that's alright," Henry said evasively as he realized where they were going. "We know where we are now. No need to take us back to camp," His response was a grunt and a hitch from Marco.

Henry leaned forward slightly to get a look at Simon who sat on the shoulder opposite from him. He caught Simon's eye and gave him an uneasy look as he thought of the punishment that await them when they made it back to castle Utgard on the shoulder of a titan that was strictly restrained.

Simon shrugged and looked away from Henry, leaning his back against Marco's neck. He dangled his left leg over the front of Marco's collarbone, fingering the fringing fabric of his dark green Survey Corps cloak. A frown crawled its way onto his face as he realized that this stunt could get him kicked out of the Scouting Legion.

Like a bad omen, the large castle soon made its way into view and both boys groaned in unison slumping down in their spots. Marco's lips turned up in the slightest at the childish soldiers.

Marco stopped in front of the castle and set Simon and Henry down silently. He grabbed Simon by the hood of his cloak before he could run through the harshly carved wood door. He gave the blond young man a serious look before pulling the hood over his eyes and ushering him forward with a finger to his back.

Simon pulled his hood out of his face with a scoff and ran inside calling for his officials and superiors to come outside.

Marco sighed and closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. He knew that he would get in a heap of trouble for escaping his restraints—again—but maybe they would lessen the punishment since he saved someone's life—again. He opened his eyes and looked up at the dark sky above him, tracing the stars and finding all the constellations still floating in his memory.

"What is going on?" Someone said loudly as Simon and Henry pushed her outside. It was Hanji and Moblit, still clad in their sleepwear. "Marco?" Hanji said, "How did you get out of your restraints?" She walked up to the titan, squinting up at him.

Marco lowered his head slightly.

"He was saving us," Simon said stepping forward, "We got lost and were chased by wolves. Henry and I would most likely be dead if it weren't for him," Simon took a deep breath and stood valiantly before his superior.

"Is this true?" A deep voice said from the doorway. Simon whirled around to see Commander Erwin and Corporal Levi standing silently behind him. He hadn't even noticed them.

"Y-yes, sir," Henry sputtered. "We originally ran into the other deviants and were pointed in the right direction, but we lost track of how far we had moved and ended up turning in the wrong direction. Marco found us and brought us back here," He cautiously looked up at the titan, "After saving us from those mad dogs," He added quickly looking back at Erwin.

"The other deviants?" Erwin questioned.

The boys nodded.

"Well," Erwin looked around, "You must be exhausted from all that walking." He looked at Hanji who looked like she would scream, then at Marco and back to Simon and Henry. "We'll talk about this in the morning. Get your rest first." He had a serious expression that said it wasn't a comforting suggestion but an order.

"Yes, sir," Simon and Henry said in unison. They gingerly walked back through the door with Hanji and Moblit trailing behind them.

Marco sat with his legs crossed and his back straight as Erwin and Levi stared up at him. Levi's hair was tousled in a funny way but Marco couldn't find any humor in the way he glared up at him.

"Thank you, Marco," Erwin said graciously. "Those boys owe you their lives."

"Idiots," Levi mumbled.

Marco swallowed and nodded slowly down at the two men. He may have been thirty times their size, but he was still stricken with intimidation by them.

The corners of Erwin's lips lifted slightly then and he gave Marco a pleasant look. "I look forward to your training sessions next week." He nodded at Marco again and followed Levi back through the door.

Marco stared after them with his mouth open slightly. He swallowed a giant lump of fear in his throat and watched as the castle Utgard went back to sleep before standing and walking back to the forest with the howls of wolves buzzing in his ears.

**{That was a fun chapter! I decided to make it a little longer as a little Christmas present just in case I don't post again before the end of the Holiday! Merry Christmas everyone!}**


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